Scientists and engineers have toiled for decades to discover workable alternatives to petroleum-based fuels. Despite this prolonged effort, such alternatives have failed to gain commercial success. However, this failure can hardly be attributed entirely to economic conditions. Indeed, market conditions have been favorable to petroleum alternatives, particularly in times of oil shortages such as during World War II and the 1970's energy crisis.
The lack of commercial success of alternative fuels may be explained, at least in part, to the shortcomings of prior systems. One of the major drawbacks of prior systems and methods of utilizing alternative fuels is the inability of the systems to provide the operational benefits of petroleum-based systems. For example, pellet-burning wood stoves and coal-fed cyclone furnaces lack the on/off functionality of gas and oil burners. The furnace will continue to burn the fuel added to the burner chamber until the fuel is consumed regardless of whether the desired temperature is reached. Likewise, existing pellet- and powder-based systems lack the ability to quickly respond to increased performance demands due to the “ramp up” time required to ignite the newly added fuel.
Moreover, the disadvantages of existing alternative fuel systems can be staggering. These systems often produce pollution that is worse than that produced by petroleum-based systems. For example, existing wood boilers produce unpleasant odors and large particulates that can irritate the lungs and eyes. See, e.g., Anahad O'Connor, Wood Boilers Cut Heating Bills. The Rub? Secondhand Smoke, N.Y. Times, Dec. 18, 2006. Additionally, these systems may not even produce the proper conditions for efficient combustion, for example, resulting in excess carbon monoxide production.
As the existing technology has been clearly inadequate to produce an alternative fuel system, there still remains a need for clean, dependable, and efficient alternate fuels, in addition to the systems that utilize these alternate fuels.